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Monday, June 11, 2012

Kid Friendly Design, a guest post by Houzz

Hello everyone! My name is Becky and I'm a contributor at Houzz, a home design site focused on helping design professionals and homeowners manage the remodeling and decorating process. Thanks so much to Jessica for having me!

Since Jessica is always striving to maintain her personal style while keeping things kid-friendly, I thought I'd show a few examples of how to handle those stages when your kids aren't so friendly toward your home. That is to say, they track in mud, have sticky fingers, spill grape juice on the counters, rugs and sofa ...

These kinds of decor messes often make parents want to give up when it comes to home style and let function and plastic overtake their personal tastes. This does not have to be the case. Here are a few tricks for attaining a highend look that can stand up to your youngsters.

Use weatherproof textiles. The couple who live in this sophisticated apartment outside of San Francisco have young children. Thus, interior designer Ali Davin used weatherproof fabrics on just about every last piece of upholstered furniture and throw pillow. These fabrics can stand up to just about anything. To make cleaning even easier, use tailored slipcovers and removable pillow covers wherever possible.

Another great weatherproof option is an outdoor rug. These come in many beautiful patterns and colors, and most of them can literally be hosed down when your kids track in mud.

Durable countertops. While you may have your heart set on
a luxurious stone, if you make the splurge you may wind up fruitlessly trying to avoid stains and making your kids nervous in what is supposed to be the heart of the home, the kitchen.

However, you can still have elegant counters by choosing something more durable and/or darker like Corian, wood, concrete or soapstone. Bring on the cherry popsicles! You'll be able to take care of the stains with one wipe of the sponge.

Max out your mudroom. Catch clutter before it even makes it past this threshold. If you're lucky enough to have a large back entry area, provide each child with his or her own locker for coats, backpacks and sports equipment, and a lower cubby for shoes. Even better, if this space doubles as a laundry room, your kids can strip down out of dirty clothes and throw them right into the hamper.

If you are limited to a small entryway, hang a hook for each family member above a storage bench. Between the hooks and the bench you'll have room for coats, backpacks, umbrellas and shoes.

Fantastic post! I've always wondered about using outdoor fabrics on upholstery. I need to order a swatch and spill a bunch of stuff on it to test out. We have an outdoor rug in the living room that looks like sisal. I absolutely love it. Multiple red wine spills have come right. Wait...who's the kid in my house?

I just so love the ideas and tips you've shared for the Mudroom ,it's really brilliant of you. I have noticed the open floor plan designs of the first photograph, I love it just like that. It makes family bonding more fun. Thank you for sharing those tips.

About

I'm a Harvard-trained architect, now staying at home with 4 young children. I designed and built my dream house, then did it all again with a modern vacation house. I'm putting my passion for design, food and family to work. I built the dream, but I still live in reality.